New metrics for managing and sustaining the ocean's bounty

Policies are arising around the world, most recently in the United States, that mandate the implementation of marine spatial planning as a practical pathway towards ecosystem-based management. In the new United States ocean policy, and several other cases around the globe, ecosystem services are at the core of marine spatial planning, but there is little guidance on how ecosystem services should be measured, making it hard to implement this new approach. A new framework is shown here for practical, rigorous ecosystem service measurement that highlights contributions from both natural and social systems. The novel three-step framework addresses traditional shortcomings of an ecosystem services approach by giving managers and scientists the tools to assess and track: (1) the condition of the ecosystem (supply metrics), (2) the amount of ocean resources actually used or enjoyed by people (service metrics), and (3) people's preference for that level of service (value metrics). This framework will allow real world progress on marine spatial planning to happen quickly, and with a greater chance for success.     

An Ecosystem Based Fisheries Management framework: the efficient,regional-level planning tool for management agencies

The value of applying a regional level, Ecosystem Based Fisheries Management (EBFM) framework, which is a step-wise, hierarchical, risk-based approach, was tested on the West Coast Bioregion of Western Australia. With structured stakeholder input, over 600 ecological, social, economic and governance issues were initially identified for the region. This complexity was reduced to a level useful for management by consolidating the individual risks into 60 regional-level risks, with a multi-criteria analysis used to integrate the ecological, social and economic risks into just 24 Departmental-level priorities, which ranged from very low to urgent. Given this success, EBFM-based priorities now form the basis for the Department’s budget planning process, plus the framework is providing a critical link between fishery level issues and the broader processes undertaken by other marine based agencies. The EBFM framework is a significant step forward for the integrated management of natural resources by enabling all assets and issues relevant to stakeholders and government to be holistically considered at a regional level.     

Proposing a coordinated environmental effects monitoring (EEM) program structure for the offshore petroleum industry,Nova Scotia,Canada

Environmental effects monitoring (EEM) identifies, quantifies, and compares predicted environmental impacts of a proposed industrial project to those observed after the project has been developed. Several EEM program structures exist, while the structure used by Environment Canada to monitor impacts of the pulp and paper industry has proven to be effective. The aim of this study is to provoke discussion on the development of an effective and coordinated petroleum EEM program structure for the offshore of Nova Scotia, Canada. A structure that supports development of a national EEM program for the petroleum industry is then proposed. Advantages of a coordinated EEM program structure include: (1) reduced cost of the EEM; (2) fewer gaps and less overlapping of responsibilities; (3) fewer calculated risks to the marine environment; and (4) improved environmental safeguards.     

Ecosystem-based marine spatial management: Review of concepts, policies, tools, and critical issues

Conventional sectoral management and piecemeal governance are considered less and less appropriate in pursuit of sustainable development. Ecosystem based marine spatial management (EB-MSM) is an approach that recognizes the full array of interactions within an ecosystem, including human uses, rather than considering single issues, species, or ecosystem services in isolation. Marine spatial planning and ocean zoning are emerging concepts that can support EB-MSM. EB-MSM is driven by high-level goals that managers aim to achieve through the implementation of measures. High-level goals and objectives need to be translated into more operational objectives before specific targets, limits and measures can be elaborated.Monitoring, evaluation and adaptation are necessary to ensure that marine management measures are both effective and efficient. Solid monitoring frameworks are the foundation of adaptive management, as they provide the necessary information to evaluate performance and the effectiveness of management actions. Marine protected areas (MPAs) - possibly set up in networks - constitute a key component in EB-MSM policies and practises and have been applied as a cornerstone in conservation of marine biodiversity, management of fish populations, development of coastal tourism, etc. Moreover, MPA experiences have provided methods and concepts (such as zoning) to a wider EB-MSM context. The assignment of values to biophysical features of the marine environment allows the direct assessment of related management choices and may assist EB-MSM.A range of monetary valuation techniques have been proposed to reduce attributes of goods and services to a single metric. However, in the marine environment such an approach is often over simplistic, and thus less reductive techniques may be necessary. Rather than producing a single metric, the results of non-monetary assessments guide policy allowing weight to be given as necessary to potential areas of conflict and consensus.Strategies to take into account climate change effects and geohazard risks in EB-MSM have been applied or proposed worldwide. EB-MSM regimes must be alert to such risks and flexible to account for changes.